Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
In manufacturing environments, for example, robotic equipment may be used to supplement and/or replace human labor to allow a quick, cost effective, and quality controlled manufacturing process. Robotic equipment, along with other machines and/or peripherals performing a task in conjunction with the robotic equipment, are referred to as a work cell, or cell. How the robotic equipment interacts with the other machines in the cell may be programmed, both with regard to a position of the robotic equipment in the cell and a synchronization with the other machines. The operational motions and sequences to be performed by the robotic equipment may be automatically programmed and controlled by one or more computing devices coupled to the robotic equipment. In some examples, the computing devices may be integrated with the robotic equipment.
A variety of safety features for robotic equipment, such as light screens, laser scanners, fencing, and/or safety mats, may be implemented to provide protection to humans working in the manufacturing environment, as well as the robotic equipment itself. However, the cost and complexity of implementing such safety features may be prohibitive in some cases. Accordingly, current safety features and the implementation thereof could use improvements and/or alternative or additional solutions in order to provide and promote a safe, productive manufacturing environment.